The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for forming optical fibers and, more particularly, relates to optical fiber thermal control methods incorporating non-contact fiber centering and cooling.
Conventional manufacturing processes for producing optical fibers typically include drawing an optical fiber from an optical fiber preform in a draw furnace, cooling the drawn fiber, and coating the fiber after it is sufficiently cooled. The optical fiber is typically drawn in a furnace at about 2,000° C. and the heat is typically transported to the preform mostly by radiation and removed from the drawn fiber during the cooling stage.